Stake My Claim or An Avoiding Finals Essays Fic
by Charlie Chaplin 2
Summary: 3rd in the series. A little long, deals with AmixZoi, I wanted Ami to seem a little more grown up & confident. Mainly centers around a club, but of course if full of silliness! Yay!


Once again I am avoiding work and felt like writing a one-shot. This one got a bit out of hand though. It was only meant to be half this size with a much simpler and smaller plot. Oh well, hopefully I'll keep it short in Mina's fic. Enjoy!

CC2 xx (and let me know what you think!)

* * *

"Hello? ... Miranda! Hey!"

Ami's eyes looked up sharply from the article in her latest edition of _New England Journal of Medicine _to glare suspiciously at her husband's mobile phone.

"Yeah, I'm just about to leave now…Where? … Isn't that a club? … Is it even open yet? It's only nine o'clock…" A slight frown of confusion marred Zack's beautiful features before they lit up again, "Cool, I'll see you guys there then." He chuckled lightly, obviously Miranda had said something funny…or cute…or sexy…Ami's mind whirled at the possibilities, each one becoming less and less appealing, her lips drew together in an angry pout and her eyes narrowed down to slits, she came to one conclusion: whatever Miranda said, Ami didn't like it.

He hung up his mobile; Ami followed his hand in what seemed to be slow motion as it travelled the length of a very well toned torso, down to his wonderfully narrow hips, before sliding the phone easily into his side pocket. Her heart seemed to skip lightly at the sight and for a second her annoyance at Miranda seemed forgotten. She dropped her eyes to her journal quickly before she was caught staring, but Zack saw the faint blush on her cheeks. He strode over to the bed, watching as her sapphire eyes skimmed over the lines of her reading material, her glasses sitting delicately on her cute, button nose. "What are you reading?" He asked.

"An article on Helicobacter pylori Infection and Thyroxine Dose in Multinodular Goiter," Ami answered back without looking up, "It's very interesting," she added as an afterthought.

Zack shook his head and smirked, even after being with her for so long, he still found her absolutely adorable - was it really weird that he was completely turned on when she said things like that? Her head was being propped up by a pillow, the midnight black of her hair a bold opposite to the pure white of the pillow casing. He sat down beside her.

Feeling the weight of the bed shift, Ami looked up, but Zack's attention was on her legs. They were hidden underneath the thin, blue sheets; Zack could still see their silhouettes, ending in the most dainty and irresistible feet, he itched to touch them, to trace the contours of her ankles, up to her calves and then to those soft, creamy thighs of hers. Ami shifted under his gaze, slightly uncomfortable as she wondered whether he ever snuck a glance at Miranda's legs, _of course he probably has, he's a guy! Honestly, you're being irrational, he married you, he loves YOU, _drawing one foot closer to her body so her knee bent up, she stamped down the strange need to find Miranda and do horribly violent things to her. The movement was enough to kick Zach out of his wicked thoughts about his beautiful little wife; he grinned mischievously, "You're a goddess, you know that?" She smiled, shifting her gaze to her table lamp; a while after they had started dating she had managed to stop blushing every time he gave her a compliment, but even now, she had never been able to meet his eyes when he said things like that. Zack always seemed to have a sort of power over her and sometimes she just couldn't look into his jade coloured eyes without trembling, _no woman could, he's just too beautiful, _she thought to herself.

Zack always found it made his heart ache when she turned away like that; it made her look vulnerable, it reminded him that inside the cool, intelligent and confident doctor that Ami appeared to be, was a breathtaking, shy, insecure woman who needed his love and protection more than anything else in the world, and he was determined never to let her down. He placed a finger under her chin and guided her face towards his; he leaned in to kiss her, she willingly obliged.

At first it was a simple, I-love-you kiss, brushing his lips teasingly against hers before nibbling on her bottom lip; it drove Ami crazy, she smoothed her hands into his long curly hair -her journal dropped on the floor- and pulled him closer, _He's mine! No-one else's. _Her sudden possessiveness deepened the kiss and all thought flew out of Zack's head. He growled as he essentially ripped off her glasses, tossing the three-figure item away as if it were a cheap toy. He pulled her lower down onto the bed and she suddenly found herself directly under him as he assaulted her with kisses that sent her mind reeling. She unconsciously brought her other foot nearer and wrapped both legs around his hips, pressing their bodies closer together. He grinded his pelvis into hers, eliciting a soft moan and sending a small wave of pleasure into the pit of her stomach, even through the fabric of his pants and her sheets she could feel him.

With the ease of an expert, he undid her nightshirt, his mouth left hers as he traced kisses along the length of her neck down to her exposed breast. Ami's nails dug slightly into his back in anticipation –when they were rudely interrupted by a shrill beeping sound coming from Zack's…lower area. As their lust-filled brains slowly cleared to allow logical thought to emerge once again, they realised what it was, Zack lifted himself slightly and drew out his mobile, scanning his text quickly. "It's from Tom, he says they're all in the Strata Club, I should go…" Ami nodded in agreement, any other time she would have protested, but Zack and his firm had just landed themselves the biggest client in the city, practically every other law firm had been competing for Jacobs & Jacobs. He deserved to celebrate with his co-workers, they'd be upset if he didn't– she just would have preferred if a certain female colleague named Miranda (the latest addition to Zack's team) wasn't there...

Zack sat up reluctantly and fixed himself, casting a forlorn look as his almost-naked nymph before reaching for a small elastic to keep his hair back and putting on a thin jacket. He gave her a slight peck on the cheek; he didn't trust himself with more.

"Aren't you going to be a little cold in that?" Ami asked as she buttoned her shirt back, "It's quite chilly outside."

"That's the point," he said as he grabbed his keys and headed out the bedroom, "It'll calm me down…" Ami threw a pillow at him and hit him square in the back of the head, causing him to stumble forward. Zack turned around in shock as Ami giggled, "Have fun!" she said in her sweetest voice, he simply shook his head in mock disappointment and disappeared from view. She heard him reach the front door, but before he left, he shouted out "I wish you were coming! I'm sure those stuffy guest doctors wouldn't mind if you were a little late for work tomorrow!"

"Zack! They aren't stuffy!" Ami cried back with indignation.

"Sure, whatever you say. I won't be too long hun, bye!" With that he was gone.

Ami shook her head at her husband's antics, he knew she didn't like clubs that much, and she _did _have a very important day tomorrow, not to mention she would have felt awkward, it was sort of a private party…she fluffed up her pillow and picked up her journal from the floor. She flicked through the pages until she found where she had 'paused for a break', but as she tried to focus on the words, she realised that she couldn't read it properly. _Where did he throw my glasses? _She sighed knowing she'd have to leave the comfort of her bed to look for them. _I bet Miranda never has this problem, with her perfect blond hair and perfect teeth and 20/20 vision. _She threw off her covers and got out, thoroughly irritated with herself for being so foolish, why was she still thinking about her? A_fter all, two of my best friends are perky blue-eyed blonds_ she thought as she searched the floor for her reading glasses…_but then again, neither of my friends have been trying to seduce my husband…Oh shut up Ami! Zack is very aware of how women act towards him, he's not stupid. And he loves you! _She argued with herself as she paced around her room, not even noticing she passed her glasses nearly three times. He'd know if Miranda was coming on to him too strong and he'd make sure to push her away! Or maybe he wouldn't want to push her away… images floated in her mind of Zack dancing with all his female co-workers - she never minded that - until he got to Miranda, her eyes darkened as she imagined them grinding together to some silly rap song that had too many swear words. She imagined her blood red nails digging into Zack's chest as he threw his head back in ecstasy, and they both laughed manically like villains from a comic book.

Ami slumped onto the floor, giving up on her search for her glasses –which were less than a foot away - she leaned against her bed feeling terrible; she trusted Zack, but _he _wasn't the problem. She had seen how Miranda acted when she came over to work with Zack late some evenings, sometimes a few others from Zack's team were there, but mostly it was just Miranda. Unfortunately Ami couldn't be there all the time to spy on the slutty little home-wrecker, (the violence of her thoughts springing up from nowhere…) she often had to work late at the hospital.

But why didn't she feel this way about Holly or Natalie? (Another two women who worked at the firm)… _because they don't read out legal documents like they're in a porn movie. _Ami hugged her knees, she hated how she was feeling, insecurity washed over her in waves of nausea, and she wanted to drown herself in tears.

But then something snapped.

_No! _Her eyes became solid and glinted with determination; she was no longer the girl from high school who was teased mercilessly for her intelligence, or that girl from college who let people walk all over her. _Marriage may have dulled Zack's senses! It's up to me to keep him out of harm's way. _And with that very Usagi-like declaration she stomped over to her closet and pulled out the sexiest outfit she could find. A few minutes and a pair of earrings, some lipstick and some eye-shadow later, she was almost ready. She called a taxi and gave them the address. While she waited she touched up her hair slightly..._well I can't make everything look good, I'll just tell people I was aiming for the 'tousled hair' look, which I suppose is what it is… _

She wondered if she was being silly, would Zack be offended that she went? _He did invite me…And Marie is going to be there, if Tom could bring his girlfriend, then why can't I come? So shut up brain, stop being so polite! Go save your marriage! _- well it wasn't like her marriage needed saving, Zack seemed oblivious to Miranda – _ok then, go make sure Miranda knows how futile her attempts are at trying to steal Zack, ha! _The taxi honked outside, grabbing her purse, she headed out the door.

* * *

On the way her phone rang, Ami checked the I.D. and smiled; she pushed the answer button and was greeted with, "Where are you? You didn't answer your landline."

Ami rolled her eyes, "Hey to you too Mina, what's up?" from the sounds of it, she was someplace crowded.

Minako giggled at the other end, "I'm in a bar, so you're going to have to speak up! Hold on, I'm going outside." Ami shook her head as she waited for Mina to find a quieter area. "Ok, I'm outside! Mako, Rei and I just wanted to wish you good luck for tomorrow! I'm sure you'll impress all those pompous windbags!"

"Yeah! Kick ass tomorrow babe!" Ami heard Mako shout out. She sounded a little tipsy.

"Not so loud!"

"Aww come on Rei! We're outside a BAR!"

"Touché. Go Ami!" Ami notice that Rei also sounded a little tipsy too.

"So where are you?" Mina asked.

"Well I'm actually going to the Strata Club to meet Zack. He got the Jacobs account and he's out celebrating."

"Oh my God! That's great Ami! He was working really har – wait? So you're going out? OH MY GOD!" Her squeals of joy forced Ami to hold the phone away from her ear. "We need to see this! You haven't been out in like forever!"

"Forever!" echoed Mako for emphasis in the most Beverly Hills accent she could muster.

"We'll meet you there! Bye Ames!"

Ami sighed as she put her phone away; well it would never hurt to have back up…

* * *

As soon as Ami entered the club shrieks of delight erupted as three gorgeous women glomped her. Every man within the vicinity stared wide-eyed at what was probably one of their main fantasies come true.

"So how come you're here?" Rei demanded as they pulled apart.

"Rei! Don't be so mean!" Mina said, slapping her friend on the arm.

"What I meant," Rei stated, glaring at Mina, "Was why didn't you come with Zack? And what on earth possessed you to come out now, when you never go out if you've got something important to do the next day."

"Yeah Ames, what's up?" Mako asked.

"Have you seen him around?" Ami asked, trying to avoid the question.

"Yeah, but we decided to wait for you before we went over and said hi. So answer, does your being here having anything to do with the blond chick with big boobs?" Mako asked rather bluntly, Ami sighed; Mako always preferred the direct approach.

"Hey!" Mina cried in protest.

"Hey what?" Rei asked lifting an eyebrow.

"Well…I'm a blond with big boobs!"

"Aren't you the humble one." Rei answered rolling her eyes.

"Well you're making it seem like it's a bad thing!"

"Mina dear, for Ami it _is _a bad thing. We don't like this particular bimbo."

"I know that! I'm not a ditz," Mako and Rei both gave her a sceptical look while Ami attempted to hold down a giggle; Mina quickly tried to change the subject, "I love your hair Ami! How long did it take you to style it like that?"

"Not long. So she's here then? I was hoping she'd suddenly decided to move to some obscure country like Kyrgyzstan, or had fallen down a deep hole." She said looking through the crowd for a familiar copper head. She spotted him some distance away, heading to the dance floor with a group of people.

For a moment no-one said anything, Ami had hit them with a double bomb. First, Ami was never that rude, not even to the guy who had nearly run her over once, and _where the hell is curtsey-stand? _Makoto wondered.

"I knew it! See? I told you that's what was bothering her! I'm not a therapist for nothing!"

"Gee, Mina, no-one would have guessed that Ami's been worried about her husband," Rei dead-panned, "it's not like we were all talking about it a few days ago at Usagi's or anything…"

"Or the fact that a blind person could see how that bimbo's trying to sink her claws into him," Added Mako.

"Guys, could you not talk like I'm not here?" Ami asked, a little annoyed she couldn't get a word in.

"Sorry Ames," Rei offered, "let's go get a drink."

"Sounds like an idea, and don't worry Ami, I've got a plan."

"Oh dear, guys Mina's been thinking again!" Mako laughed as she dodged a few well-placed blows to the arm.

* * *

"That's your plan!" Rei asked incredulously as her drink was brought to her, "how long did it take for you to think that one up?"

Ami was speechless, a slight blush creeping on her cheeks.

Mako was simply shaking her head in disapproval.

"Hush Rei, stop being so bitchy, just because Jared chose to spend the night watching football at Darien's instead of being with you doesn't mean you can take it out on the rest of us."

Mako started chocking on her Cosmo as Rei stuck out her tongue, "It's not like your boyfriend's here either!"

"He's in Hong Kong!"

"So why didn't he take you with him?"

"I have a busy schedule" Mina fired back.

"I love those jeans girl!" said Makoto, once she'd recovered from her fit; she was now ignoring her two bickering friends, "wow! I wonder where you got them from?" winking at the in joke.

Ami beamed, "I was worried they were going to be too long, but with high heels they're perfect, thanks again for them."

"Anytime," Mako giggled back, "Mina isn't the only one with phenomenal fashion sense," she smiled and held up a victory sign.

"Anyway!" Minako shouted a little too loud, turning from Rei to Ami "back to the subject at foot." No-one bothered to correct her. "It's simple, Mako 'accidentally' spills her drink on bimbo's dress, when she goes to clean up, Ami swoops up her husband and whisks him off to the dance floor, we flirt with all the cute guys from Zack's office and by the time bimbo comes back from the bathroom, Ami's gotten Zack so horny they rush home to make sweet, sweet love. It's perfect!"

"Or just very, very dumb," Rei said, sipping her espresso martini.

"So dumb that it'll work!"

"No, it's just dumb."

"I'm not really sure I want to do that…"

"Don't worry Ames, it's flaw-proof. Trust me, I've been helping couples for years!"

"Yeah, helping them straight to the insanity ward," Rei mumbled. Minako glared at her.

"Why do _I _have to spill my drink on her?" Makoto asked dubiously.

"Because," replied Mina as if it were the most obvious thing in the world, "you're the only one taller than her, Ami can't do it, it'd be suspicious, and bimbo – what's her name again?"

"Miranda" Ami supplied.

"Right, Miranda may well be a psycho, she might want to attack Rei or me, well, she'd _definitely _want to attack Rei."

"And why must we flirt?" asked Rei, ignoring Mina's comment.

"Does one ever need a reason?" at Rei's look she gave in, "because then no one will get upset that Zack's gone home early instead of partying with them; they'll be too busy with us, plus Myra will get annoyed that all the attention isn't on her."

"Myra?" Makoto mouthed. Ami shrugged her shoulders.

"Mina…" Rei began dangerously.

"Trust me! It's just for tonight! For Ami!"

"Guys, it's really ok, I only came-" Ami stopped in mid speech as she watched in horror as Rei downed her drink like it was water.

She shook her head and cleared her throat lightly before turning to Ami, "Don't worry girl, Mina's plan may be stupid, but blond with big boobs is even more stupid if she thinks she can mess with one of our friends." She turned to the bartender and signalled she wanted another drink, "Besides it's either this or football."

"Why do I feel like I'm in a bad chick-flick?"

"Because you are Ami dear, that's what life all about."

Ami blinked a few times, "I don't see how-"

"Don't ask dear, it'll take too long to explain and I charge a hefty amount for hour-long sessions. Now, when you're on the dance floor with your hubby," Mina explained in a semi-serious tone, "try and you know…get a little excited."

"Mina, I-" Minako put a finger to Ami's lips before she could protest.

"Maybe nibble an area he likes"

"Thanks Mina but-"

"Brush a certain body part with your hands"

"Oh God shut her up!"

"I'm trying to be helpful here Rei!"

"I'm sure Ami knows how to turn on her own husband!" Ami's hand clamped down on Rei's mouth like a magnet to a steel pole, but it was too late, the people around her stopped talking and stared -though only for a second- but it was long enough for Ami to be completely mortified.

"No matter how old we get, when we're together, we still manage to act like we're in high school." Mako observed, "Now I'm getting another drink, preferably a cheap one, there's no way I'm wasting good money on that floozy's dress."

"Alright! Operation _smack my bitch_ up is GO!" Mina shouted, waving imaginary pom-poms in the air.

"What ?"

"Geez! Calm down Rei! It's just a song title."

"First of all it's a very degrading song about abusing women, and second it's got nothing to do with the plan!"

"But it's got a funky beat! And it's on right now, listen!" Mina then started doing a little jig as 'Smack My Bitch Up' came to a finish.

It suddenly occurred to Ami why Minako was acting so ditsy, there was only ever one reason her normally extreme talent for dancing degraded into making her look like she was being electrocuted, "Mako, how drunk is she?"

"Well…" Mako thought hard, "she's pretty much had the same amount as me, maybe a few more, and I'm feeling a bit 'weeeee' in the head, so, I'd say she's pretty smashed."

"And Rei?"

"About the same."

"Right. Goody. So how are you guys going to get home? Taxi?" Ami asked, slight worry in her tone, Usagi may have been the self-proclaimed mother hen, but sometimes even she had to be taken care of by Ami.

"Nah, my sweety pie's working late, so he said he wouldn't mind if we called him." Mako's face went slightly doe like and a blush rose in her cheeks, Ami suddenly thought she looked like a little girl who was dreaming about Prince Charming, "besides, he always looks forward to a bit of late night sex." The sweet image she was moments before disappeared like a vapour.

Ami rolled her eyes, but before she could say anything back, Mako was kidnapped by Mina.

"GO! Look, Mindy's heading for Zack!"

"Mindy?" Rei asked, slightly confused. But Mako got the point. Miranda was only a few dancing partners away from Zack, a couple of twirls and she'd be within the group of people he was dancing with, Ami recognised Natalie, Tom, Marie and Jordan from his office.

Mako tried to push her way through the crowd, spilling as little as possible of her drink, someone stepped on her foot. _Ow! The things I do for friends!_

Ami watched from her vantage point at the bar as Miranda slowly pushed her way into Zack's space, previously occupied by Natalie. But where Natalie had kept a respectful amount of distance between herself and Zack and a happy smile on her face, Miranda was very pressed up against him, her hands on his chest and her eyes staring into his. She had a very short skirt on too. Ami was seething. "Who the hell does she think she is?" Ami looked over at Rei, from her comment, Rei was seething too.

* * *

Zack did the best he could with the situation, he thought she was being a little inappropriate, but then again, it wasn't _her_ fault the floor was so crowded, and he supposed that she _did_ feel pretty comfortable around him, not to mention she was hot, and really, you can't be rude to a hot girl, especially if you work with her. So he decided that he'd enjoy this dance, and hey, if she tried anything more _then _he'd push her off. No point in getting her unnecessarily upset, she was after all, very hot. _How many times have I said that to myself? Hmm, better cut myself off for the night._

"I'm so hot!" She whispered into his ear, a coy smile on her lips.

"What was that?" he asked, she'd spoken to softly to hear her over the din.

"I said I'm really hot!"

_You got that right! Damn, I wonder if she's psychic? _

"I'm enjoying myself though!" She added, pushing herself closer to him so he could hear her. He felt her breasts against his chest and he couldn't help that his heart beat just a little bit faster.

"That's such a cheap move!" Mina shouted.

Miranda turned around so her back was facing Zack, it meant her butt was in a _very sensitive _area,she smiled in delight as they wound to 'Pon da Replay', _I bet she's thinks she's hooked him now, Ha! Just wait till Mako gets there! _Mina thought evilly.

But Zack didn't seem as enthusiastic about it as Miranda thought he was, and Ami smiled slightly, knowing why, _that's how he taught me how to dance_.Simply by the way he was moving, Ami could tell he wasn't really into it, _ok, maybe I won't have to kill him tonight after all…_

Zack felt a little too uncomfortable, "Want something to drink?" he offered.

"No, I'm fine for now thanks," she said and then screamed.

"Oh gosh! I'm so sorry!" Mako smiled as innocently as she could, her once full glass of beer, very empty.

"Why you stupid-"

"Lita?" Zack shouted over the din, a little shocked.

"You know her?" Miranda asked raising an eyebrow and sounding very annoyed.

"Yeah, she's a good friend," Zack answered a little sheepish, "Miranda is from my office, Miranda, Lita; Lita, Miranda."

"I'm so sorry about your dress! You should go clean it up before it's ruined!" Mako said in mock-apology, her voice dripping with a venom that only Miranda heard, "Do you need help with it? I'm very good at getting stains out!"

Miranda eyed up Makoto for a second before deciding to back off, "No, thanks, I'll be ok," she turned to Zack, putting a finger to his chest, "don't go anywhere, I'll be right back." She winked at him before leaving; Mako rolled her eyes at Miranda's lack of subtlety.

"So what are you doing here?" Zack asked, as the two moved to the background noise, the sudden change in partners not fazing him at all, "aside from spilling beer on my colleagues that is."

Mako swatted his arm at his teasing, "I'm here with the girls, and we managed to snag Ami too."

"Ami's here?" Zoi asked looking very confused.

"Yeah, she said you got those Jacobs guys, congrats by the way," Zack smiled at Mako bear hugged him then let him go just as quickly, "and she wanted to come down and celebrate with you. And if Ami goes out, then everyone has to go out! It's like a momentous event or something." Then she turned to the bar, where Mina, Rei and Ami were standing and waved like a maniac. Jordan who was dancing with Tom and Marie noticed Mako and Zack talking, "Hey guys, want to go get a drink?" Zack nodded and the three headed towards the bar. Rei, Mina and Ami made their way to Zack's associates. Holly noticed them approached, "Ami! Yay! Did you hear? We got the account!"

Ami giggled at the girl, she was normally very shy, "yes I heard, it's really great!" Zack was eyeing her up suspiciously.

"So Zack, are you going to introduce your lovely friends here?" Mina asked mischievously.

"Yeah, sorry," He made the introductions quickly, "this is Rei, Lita, Mina and you guys all know Ami," he said walking up behind her and wrapping his arms around her waist. "And these are Jordan, Holly, Ben and Natalie. I think Lita's already met Miranda."

Mina giggled and Rei shook her head. Jordan explained to everyone what happened to Miranda, and after a few minutes and much batting of Mina's eyelashes, the two groups were chatting quite amiably.

"Couldn't resist being without me for a second huh?" Zack whispered in Ami's ear, she rolled her eyes.

"So how did you guys find out you got the account?" Rei asked.

"Well Jordan's the one who got the call," Zack answered, "You should have seen him when he bounded into my office, it was like he'd won the lottery."

"Yeah, then they both hugged each other and jumped up and down," Holly continued, "It was quite the sight."

"Hey, you wanna dance?" Zack asked, as Holly related how the two men embarrassed themselves even further by singing 'we are the champions'; Ami simply nodded her head. He downed the end of his drink and led her to the dance floor.

* * *

As they moved to Britney's 'Toxic', his leg slightly in between her thighs as their hips undulated slowly, Zack asked what was on his mind, "So what gives?"

"Nothing," She said, resting her head against his chest and wrapping her hands around his neck.

"Are you sure?" he asked, not willing to drop the subject.

"Don't you want me here?" She whispered into his neck right below his ear.

Her breath made him shiver, "of course I do, but you said you didn't want to come, it's a little out of character for you. Is something wrong Ami?"

She looked straight into his eyes; Britney had given the spotlight to the Black Eyed Peas' 'Hey Mamma' and the dancing mob shouted in approval, "It's just been a while since we've been out together." He leaned slightly closer so he could hear her better; she took the opportunity to bite his earlobe. Zack closed his eyes in bliss, and pressed her even closer to him, it was one of those unusual spots that could send some people reeling; Ami had discovered it -completely by accident- one late night. His hands wondered down to her derriere, Ami blushed; _don't be so silly, you're in a night club for goodness sake! _She smiled as the little voice of rebellion in her head, perfectly happy with the way things were, "And recently you've been surrounded by so many people that I figured I'd better stake my claim on you." She said, meaning it as a joke. But Zack eyes shows he finally understood, "It's Miranda isn't it? You know that I'd never-"

Ami stopped dancing and silenced him with a kiss. "I know," she said as they finally broke apart, "but she would, I just wanted her to know that you're taken." _Ok, so maybe Zack wasn't as oblivious as you thought. Told you that you were being idiotic! _Ami wondered when she'd started going schizo.

Zack smiled like a love-sick puppy as they slowly resumed swaying to the music, as silly as it was, he found his wife's mild jealousy kind of cute. His forehead touched hers, every so often kissing her lightly on the lips; the floor had calmed considerably to Massive Attack's 'Tear Drop'. "You know she could never stand a chance," he whispered, tickling her hair with his breath. He smiled evilly at what he was going to say next, "I mean she's really very sexy…" Ami brought her hands down from his neck and lightly dug her nails into his chest for his comment, Zack tensed and Ami felt him harden, a satisfied smile graced her lips, "…but she's nothing compared to you." He continued in a much harsher voice than before, "I love you." Her smile changed to a shy one as he brushed his hand into her hair and looked her in the eyes.

"I love you too Zack." He kissed her then, deeply, putting everything he had into it, and Ami responded like she needed him more than air. They broke apart before things became a little too heated, "You want to go home and finish what we started earlier?" The broad smile on Ami's face was all the answer he needed.

* * *

Rei spotted Miranda staring at the couple dancing, sipping her drink in a ruined dress; she sauntered up to her and made a loud and obvious sigh, "They're so perfect together aren't they?" she said with the dreamiest look she could muster. Miranda turned and lifted an eyebrow as Rei continued, "He chased her for a year before she'd even go out with him. Apparently, the day after they met Zack told a friend of mine that he knew he was going to marry her..." Miranda sipped her drink, trying to seem nonchalant as her eyes followed Zack and Ami to the exit; truth be told, Rei was pissing her off and she was having a lousy night, her plans had all gone to pot. She interrupted her babbling companion, "you know-", she started, before giving her a questioning look.

"Oh, it's Rei," she said helpfully.

"Rei," Miranda said with an awkward smile, "I've got a headache coming on, I think I'm going to take off. Get an early night."

Rei beamed, "good idea, you do that." Miranda looked taken aback by such a bold comment. "I mean, you don't want to feel tired at work tomorrow," she added.

Miranda didn't answer as she paid for her drink; she hugged everyone goodbye, waved over to Tom and Marie who were just coming off the floor and made a quick exit.

"Pleasure meeting you Miriam!" Mina shouted at her retreating form. Mako simply shook her head and Jordan laughed.

"What's so funny?" Minako asked.

Fin

* * *

Right, that was a load of silly babble, but then, I like silly babble . I was trying to create a more confident Ami, and well, damn, Zoi's just sexy. Hope you enjoyed the silliness. I realise I made Mina a bit OTT with her ditziness, but I figure that's what she'll be like when drunk: waaay too bubbly. Weeee…R&R please! 


End file.
